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If you have a birthday coming up, ask for these!

I first saw these style of shoes in a magazine last year in the winter. They don't have a name (or at least not that I know of). My pair were bought from the store directly but they can be bought online from their website as well. I bought the black coloured ones but they do come in the gorgeous red colour shown and a nude colour as well. The red colour is gorgeous but as I don't wear much red to work I couldn't justify getting this colour. The nude colour doesn't look good at all and it looks really, really pale, but not white.

Now, they are very expensive in my opinion at £85. Normally I would not spend more than £50-£60 on a pair of really good quality shoes that I will wear for a long time. I know that these shoes will probably be worn for 4-5 months max so I was not going to get them as the price doesn't justify the use of the shoes. But my brother got them for me for my birthday as he knows I love shoes and he must have been talking to my cousin to know that I wanted to get them.

These are court shoes with a 3 inch heel and it has a fabric tie at the front. It is like a mary jane shoe but instead of having a buckle it has a tie at the front. The heel is high enough for work without causing me pain. I would have preferred the fabric to be satin or silk as I think it looks better and makes the shoes look more expensive (after all they aren't cheap). They are patent and so I have to be really careful because once they are damaged/ scratched, that's it. I do like patent shoes but the fact that they can so easily be damaged and given that these shoes are not cheap this is a major disadvantage.

The heel is high but not OTT and there is a slight platform which helps to give support. This makes it really comfortable to wear. I have worn them for 8-10 hours a day at work and my feet have never felt tired, although I do not wear the shoes every day. After 4 months of continuous wear they have not shown any signs of wear and tear and I was rather surprised because I am so bad at looking after things and as the shoes are patent I thought something was bound to happen. I still wear them now and again so I am trying to make some use out of them.

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Great for most occasions

I bought these shoes mainly for work but I love them so much I do wear them other times too. I paid £85.00 for them but they are currently on sale for just£20.00 on the Kurt Geiger website, a real bargain. The Carvela Abrupt decorative court shoe ( strange name!) are available in black or red patent finish. Although they are described as red they do look more of a wine colour to me. The pair I bought were black. The shoe is basically a classic court shoe which has a tie detail on the front. I usually have a size 6 in shoes and I found this was the case with these.

The abrupt court shoe has a 4 inch heel which is slim and elegant. The toe is rounded but I didn't find them too narrow. These shoes tie up at the front with a thick ribbon that matches the shoe colour. The ribbon threads through two eyes and then ties in a bow at the front. The ends of the ribbon have the synthetic material that the shoes are made of on them, this prevents fraying which would give the shoe a scruffy appearance. They do have a small platform which takes some of the height from the heel but it is very slight.

I find these shoes extremely comfortable to wear. I use them mainly for work as they look so smart but I do occasionally wear them out of work too. They are very nicely balanced and I have no problem walking in them at all. I like the patent finish on them it is so easy to clean. A simple wipe over with a damp cloth and then wipe dry.

The only problem I had with these shoes was when I first got them I did find the pieces that pull across the front of my foot where the tie goes rubbed a bit. But after a couple of wears this wore off and they have been comfortable ever since.

The only other thing to bear in mind is if you have quite narrow feet you may find these gape slightly across the toe when you walk. Not a problem I've had but it did happen to a friend of mine when she pulled the ribbon tie in tight.

Overall I think these are fabulous. I wear them all day most days and they are incredibly comfortable. They look stylish and smart for work but could easily be worn other times too. The tie up on the front gives them a pretty girly feel.

Despite them being reduced at the moment I think I paid a good price for them. They are a classic design that will look good in almost any situation.

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A lovely pair of shoes

I have quite a good deal with my dear other half as I do his paperwork for him and instead of paying me a wage he pays me in shoes so every month I have a few new pairs to add to my ever growing collection. However, I have slightly expensive taste and although New Look, Topshop, Mango shoes are members of my wardrobe I do like brands such as Nine West, KG and Carvela but I do try wait until they are reduced as I do think some shoes really don't warrant their price tag especially if I'm only going to wear them on evenings out.

Recently the Kurt Geiger website has had a sale on and I have been completely suckered in but my excuse is that I have bought mainly shoes for work which as I am in them five days out of seven they do get plenty of wear and use so the money isn't wasted and I do find that KG shoes are pretty comfortable which for me is an absolute must there is no point buying a pair of shoes for £30.00 and they cripple your feet every time you wear them!

Anyway, after searching the Kurt Geiger Website recently I did come away with a few new pairs but one my pairs was reduced by quite a substantial amount. These shoes are actually by Carvela and are called Abrupt. As soon as I saw that they were patent I new I just had to have them! They come in either black or red and as the picture shoes the red pair I'm sure you can figure out which colour I opted for! The red isn't like your typical bright red patent it is more of a deep berry shade of red which is a bit more subtle as I do find some red shoes can be a bit in your face!

What Carvela say about these shoes:

"Abrupt by Carvela is a stylish court shoe with lace-up detailing. With its patent finish adding a touch of glamour and its thin platform sole adding stature, these are the perfect partner to your wardrobe favourites this season"

I'm a huge fan of the mary jane style of shoes as I find that having a round toe on a shoe is really quite comfortable. The upper and lining parts of the shoe are made from a synthetic material which is actually quite flexible as some synthetic made shoes can be quite rigid and tough. The heel is about 9cm which is then balanced out with the small platform the shoes have (colour co-ordinated of course!), having a platform seems to take off some of the heel height making them more comfortable the wear. They tie up with quite a thick colour co-ordinated ribbon which adds a bit of sexiness to the shoe and keeps the shoes secure on your feet.

The shoes are ideal day and night wear and they have graced my office quite a few times as I always seem to wear black or grey it is nice to add a bit of colour to my outfit and I find that these do the job very well. Knowing that they were made of synthetic materials I did think that I would have a job wearing them in so they would be comfortable but I have to say that I haven't had a problem with them whatsoever right from day one they were nice and comfortable. I opted for a size 6 as I do tend to be between a 5 and a 6 and although they fit well I still had a bit of room which was nice as my feet could actually move but not move enough to rub. At work I tend to work long days if needed and these have never once caused me a problem, they are also not to narrow as even though I don't have wide feet they are certainly not the slimmest, but again no problems whatsoever.

One thing to note is that these shoes are patent so they do scuff incredibly easy but there are products on the market to give the patent a bit more protection. I find this stuff invaluable and would recommend that anyone who has patent shoes purchase some!

The Carvela Abrupt court shoes were originally priced at £85.00 (which I don't think is bad) and they are now reduced to £49.00 both on the Kurt Geiger website and the House of Fraser website which I think is a bit of a bargain for Carvela shoes!

In my opinion these shoes are lovely to look at and incredibly comfortable to wear and even better with the new reduced price!